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I’m Bob Larson. Winter is trade show time in the Ag industry when growers catch up on the latest trends and technologies to help them do their business better.

One rapidly changing facet is the demand for biological products to help crops grow without as many chemicals. At the Potato Expo in Orlando, I spoke with Keith Jones, executive director of the Biological Products Industry Alliance …

KEITH JONES … “BPIA, we’re a trade association based in the Washington D.C. area. We represent companies that are involved with either bio-pesticides or bio-stimulants. And, we’re here at the Potato Expo because we have about, over a dozen members here. And, those products are just what they sound like, they’re natural, biological products. In the case of bio-pesticides, they help with pest control. As far as bio-stimulants, they really help with plant growth. They could help with the growth of something like a potato.”

I asked Jones what types of things BPIA was focused on this year …

KEITH JONES … “There’s a lot going on this year. As I said, we’re based in the D.C. area so we do a lot on Capitol Hill and, as you can imagine, there’s a lot of activity in Washington D.C. Certainly, the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill is going to be a big piece of legislation for us. We’re actually looking to get a definition of the term bio-stimulant put into that piece of legislation. We’re also trying to get PRIA, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act, reauthorized. That’s another important piece of legislation.”

Jones says the BPIA’s mission is to promote the responsible development of safe and effective biological products.